


Georgia

by oftheunknown



Category: Women's Soccer RPF
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-12-04
Updated: 2015-12-04
Packaged: 2018-05-04 23:41:47
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 515
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5352773
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oftheunknown/pseuds/oftheunknown
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She still talked to her of course, but little good morning texts and Instagram comments didn’t fill the empty seat on the couch.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Georgia

"Well now you’ve come and gone  
I finally worked it out  
I worked it out"

//

Another season had come and gone, and once again Hope was left alone with her thoughts. No more bustle of hurried teammates in the morning, no more late night excursions to the drug store when the Tylenol bottle turned up empty, no more travel to cities she’s been to dozens of times before. Hope should have been relieved to finally be left to herself, but all she felt was a burning, aching emptiness.

The worn leather seat in front of the picture window was empty, a bed once used was folded neat, and the seat across from her at the kitchen table had been cold for a week now. Kelley was gone, and Hope was left to stare at the ghosts of her, a haunting reminder of what she’d let slip through her fingers.

It was more obvious now than ever that Kelley had taken up more space in her life than she’d realized. Hope noticed it in the way that half a cup of coffee still lingered in the pot when she left in the morning. When she drove to the bakery for lunch in the afternoon, she found herself tapping at her glass, staring off into the space Kelley used to sit in. It wasn’t as fun, being there alone. There were no freckles to number, no wisps of hair to watch catch the light, no jokes to laugh at.

After her third visit to the bakery, Hope decided it would be better to just eat at home.

She had never expected to live with the young defender. They were two polar opposites; where Kelley was open and trusting, Hope tended to be private and reluctant. But Kelley had signed with Seattle at the last minute and their teammates had already made their housing arrangements, so when Kelley made a comment in passing, Hope had, albeit hesitantly, offered her the spare bedroom.

It was odd living with Kelley at first. Her cosmetics ran over onto Hope’s side of the bathroom sink, she always used more pans than necessary when she cooked, and her bed was perpetually unmade. It took her a while, but Hope had adapted. Until now, she hadn’t noticed exactly how much it had grown on her.

Nonetheless, the revelation came crashing down on her in the days after Kelley’s flight home to Georgia. She still talked to her of course, but little good morning texts and Instagram comments didn’t fill the empty seat on the couch.

It all tumbled around in her head one Saturday morning, feet propped up on the coffee table. Kelley’s favorite cartoons flashed, muted, across her TV screen. Then, in a moment of decision and shaky confidence, Hope reached across the table for her phone. For the first time in two weeks, she called Kelley.

//

When Kelley answered her phone with as much enthusiasm as ever, the ocean waves crashing in the background while she chattered, Hope allowed herself the first genuine laugh in a long while.

It was a start.

**Author's Note:**

> Lyrics at the beginning are from Georgia by Vance Joy.


End file.
